Photo by Sam Thiel SMSU’s Nick Dufault shoots a jumper over a University of Minnesota Duluth defender during their game on Saturday. The Mustangs defeated the Bulldogs 89-82 in triple overtime.

MARSHALL — The Southwest Minnesota State University men’s basketball team has seen its share of tough losses in recent weeks, dropping four straight to begin conference play including three in a row decided by 10 points or less.

Those misfortunes were finally able to change on Saturday, but it took a few extra possessions to do it against one of the top teams in the conference.

In a back-and-forth thriller that saw 11 ties, eight lead changes and big-time shot after big-time shot, the Mustangs survived in dramatic fashion with an 89-82 triple overtime victory against the University of Minnesota Duluth.

The Mustangs snapped the Bulldogs’ eight-game win streak and handed UMD its first loss in NSIC play.

Nick Dufault almost couldn’t describe what he had been a part of on Saturday.

“It’s really hard to put into words what went down [Saturday],” Dufault said. “It’s just a fun overall NSIC game between two really good teams just grinding it out and playing hard.”

His teammate Kenny Byers agreed.

“Crazy game, going back and forth, three overtimes, it was tiring,” Byers said. “We found a way to get through it and it was an exciting game and fun to play in and a fun environment.”

The win marks the 16th time in the past 18 matchups that SMSU has defeated UMD and the 10th consecutive victory for the Mustangs against Bulldogs on its home floor. It was also the third time in program history and first since 2010 that SMSU was involved in a triple overtime game.

SMSU coach Brad Bigler said they’ve been close on several occasions this season and was proud of his players for continuing to battle and fight to the end.

“We’ve been close and the margin between winning and losing is always closer than you think,” Bigler said. “We took a step in the right direction and I’m just proud of the guys playing for each other and their resiliency when there were many times where that game could have been finishing in the wrong direction and our guys bounced back and kept on making plays. It wasn’t necessarily pretty but they found a way.”

Coming up clutch

After missing out on their chances to win the game in the final seconds of regulation, the Mustangs and Bulldogs looked to push the momentum back in their favor in overtime. UMD would take three-point advantages on back-to-back possessions, but SMSU answered with big 3-pointers from Cliff McCray and Byers to tie things back up each time. Another triple by the Bulldogs gave themselves a 67-64 lead with 1:31 to go, but Byers was able to collect his own miss and find Nick Dufault for a game-tying three with 1:08 left.

Both teams had a shot to win the game in the final seconds, and UMD appeared to have come away with a buzzer-beating jumper by Brandon Myer to win it, but the basket would be waived off after a review and the teams headed to double overtime.

The second extra session saw SMSU get a layup by Dufault with 1:28 left before Byers came up with a steal and dunk on the other end to push the Mustangs lead to three at 74-71. After UMD’s Trevor Entwisle connected on a 3-pointer to tie it up, Dufault drew a foul and hit a free throw with 31 seconds left. Entwisle kept the hot shooting from the perimeter going with another triple to give the Bulldogs a 77-75 lead with 20 seconds to go, but Byers called that triple and raised it with a long-distance response of his own with just six seconds on the clock to seemingly give SMSU the victory.

With one last opportunity to find the game-winner for the second time, UMD pushed the ball upcourt and drew a foul with just 1.3 seconds left. As an 84 percent free-throw shooter, Myer headed to the line looking to ice the game, but missed the first and made the second attempt to keep the dramatics going.

With adrenaline coursing through the R/A Facility and both teams looking like heavyweights in the 12th round, SMSU delivered the first couple of punches with a layup and jumper by Dufault to put the Mustangs up 82-79 with 3:21 left.

UMD countered with a three-point play by Myer to knot it at 82-all, but Byers found a lane to the rim and got a layup to go with a little more than a minute remaining to give SMSU the lead for good. Dufault and Byers then closed out the game with five free throws to bring it to the 89-82 final and seal the thrilling victory.

Byers said he hasn’t ever been a part of something like Saturday. Dufault, meanwhile, has been in an even crazier outcome in his career. The junior guard was a member of the Waseca Bluejays who stunned the Marshall Tigers in a unbelievable four-overtime contest in 2016 that included three buzzer-beating shots — including a 3/4-court heave by Dufault to send the game into a fourth extra session — before Waseca topped Marshall to go to the state tournament.

Dufault said Saturday’s game was just as emotional and felt they did a great job of improving and competing for each other.

“This is one of the most emotional games I’ve been a part of and it’s always fun playing in these games, especially when you come out on top,” Dufault said. “At the end of the day, we just got a lot better, we competed for each other, played hard and that’s all you can ask for from a group of guys. I’m super proud of our team, hopefully this is a telling of what the future can hold for us.”

Young players

make impact

With no seniors on this year’s team, the Mustangs have had to rely on multiple rotations that feature a mix of underclassmen. Those underclassmen, led by the freshman point guard McCray, made their impact early. McCray had seven points in the first half to lead the way for the Mustangs while Brian Dayman and Andy Stafford helped lead in rebounds early on with three apiece while each adding three points. Jake Phipps chipped in a couple of points and a pair of assists as well.

Those contributions helped SMSU hold a 12-8 lead in the beginning stages of the game before overcoming a seven-point deficit with a triple by Dayman, a Grant Kramer layup and a free throw by Stafford to make it a one-point game at 25-24 in favor of UMD with 4:55 left. The Bulldogs would maintain their slim lead throughout the remainder of the half to take a 33-28 advantage at the break.

It wasn’t just the younger players making plays in the first 20 minutes. Despite not finding the scoreboard in the opening frame, Weston Baker Magrath made plays on the defensive end, collecting a pair of blocks.

Bigler said different players stepped up in different ways and impacted the game on both ends of the floor, especially Baker Magrath.

“There were a lot of guys who stepped up in a lot of ways,” Bigler said. “Weston didn’t get as many opportunities to score, but he made a couple of big plays where he got some tips on lobs and he got some blocks. The stats may not totally show that, but he was really good for us.”

Dufault added it’s fun to watch his younger teammates put the hard work they show on display.

“It’s so fun to see those guys come in here and make some big plays. We see it in practice every single day, those guys have came in and worked so hard and have been great teammates the whole way through,” Dufault said. “We all believe in them to come out and make some big plays and do the right things and they’re doing that and are doing a great job. We’ve been in some tight games on the losing end and we’ve been doing the right things, we’re just really close and here we hopefully took that hurdle and will continue to get better.”

Resiliency

shines through

Despite seeing the Bulldogs gain a little bit of momentum at the end of the first and beginning of the second halves, the Mustangs continued to work away at their deficit. UMD led by as many as eight in the final frame, but SMSU fought back with a 13-0 run. After a jumper by Dufault halted a nearly three-minute scoreless streak by the Mustangs, Byers followed it up with a jumper before a trio of 3-pointers from Dayman and Dufault put SMSU up by five at 48-43 with 8:19 left.

UMD had a response of its own, however, answering with a 12-7 boost to tie things up at 55 apiece. Phipps would give SMSU a 57-55 lead with 2:10 to go in regulation, but the Bulldogs drew a foul with 49 seconds remaining, and Myer hit both free throws to force the game into overtime and setting the stage for the dramatics in overtime.

Dufault finished the game with a career-high 28 points while Byers added 24 and McCray had 15. Byers collected a career-high 16 rebounds while Dayman added eight and McCray had five. Byers also led in assists with six while McCray added four. As a team, SMSU shot 41.8% from the field (33-of-79), including 11-of-31 from 3-point range (35.5%) and 12-of-18 from the free-throw line.

Myer led the way for UMD with 34 points while Entwisle added 18 and Logan Rohrscheib had eight. Myer also led in rebounds with 18 while Alex Illikainen added 10. Myer and Entwisle led in assists with five each.

Defensively, the Mustangs held the Bulldogs to 35.1% shooting (27-of-77) and forced 13 UMD turnovers. Baker Magrath led in blocks for SMSU with five.

Up next

SMSU (4-7, 1-4 NSIC) will wrap up the calendar year with a home matchup against the University of Sioux Falls next Saturday at 4 p.m. Bigler said they need to continue to find a level of consistency on the floor as they approach the holiday break.

“I think the biggest thing is just trying to find continuity in our rotations and in our lineups,” Bigler said. “It’s really been a struggle this year and if we can find a way to continue to have consistent rotations, I think that will help the guys gel and help them understand their roles better.”

SMSU 89, UMD 82 (3 OT)

UMD 33 24 10 11 4 — 82

SMSU 28 29 10 11 11 — 89

Scoring: SMSU (Dufault 11-25, 3-4 28; Byers 9-27, 4-6 24; McCray 5-10, 3-4 15; Dayman 2-3, 0-0 6; Stafford 2-4, 1-2 6; Hanson 1-3, 0-0 3; Phipps 1-2, 1-2 3; Baker Magrath 1-1, 0-0 2; Kramer 1-4, 0-0 2).

Rebounds: SMSU 49 (Byers 16; Dayman 8; McCray 5; Baker Magrath, Dufault, Stafford, Phipps 4; Hanson, Kramer 1).

Assists: SMSU 15 (Byers 6; McCray 4; Phipps 3; Dufault 2).

Steals: SMSU 7 (Byers 4; Dufault 3).

Blocks: SMSU 8 (Baker Magrath 5; Dayman 2; Stafford 1).